Early Sampler

Enough of the name teams in girls basketball got started in the post-Thanksgiving rush to merit a quick run-through of what took place, even if it offered only a small glimpse of the larger picture yet to play out.

Oswego has been burning for this season to get underway, and showed it by winning the Seton Catholic Tournament in Binghamton. By getting past Elmira Free Academy 47-39 and then knocking off Seton Catholic 55-52, the Buccaneers passed a huge early road test, using a 21-11 run in the fourth quarter to rally and get the first-place trophy. In Christian Saccia (who had 11 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter of the final), Oswego has another key player to take pressure off Cari Reed.

Three Class AA teams were at Utica Proctor, and the Raiders knocked off its rivals from Rome Free Academy. But Cicero-North Syracuse took over, rolling past Whitesboro and Proctor.
Yes, we know about Breanna Stewart, and the freshman garnered MVP honors, but remember that the Northstars also have two great veterans in Marybeth Egan and Morgan Nandin, and they're just as vital. A huge game looms Thursday night, when the Northstars host defending champion Corcoran.

To win the Bill Middleton Tournament in Baldwinsville, West Genesee needed to make a 22-3 fourth-quarter comeback, and needed Alyssa Sutherland to put up 31 points, to beat Bishop Ludden 64-59 before a win over the host Bees in the final. Great as she is, Sutherland can't make the Wildcats a contender herself. if her teammates step up at crucial times, WG can be a headache again.

Meanwhile, a Class A favorite took the stage. Cortland still needs to find a successor to Shannon Finucane, but in the O'Heron Tournament, it hardly mattered with Courtney Tennant still around.

Following a 59-41 win over Newfield, the Purple Tigers ripped through Homer 61-24, and Tennant might have played better than anyone all weekend. She torched Newfield for 32 points, then got 18 points in the romp of Homer. Even with other big names in the OHSL Freedom division (Mexico, Jamesville-DeWitt, CBA), Cortland must be reckoned with.

Clinton, among the Class B teams, got to make an early impression by winning its own Optimist Tournament. Following an 80-34 destruction of Sauquoit Valley, the Warriors met Waterville in the finals, and the defenses took over. Not until MVP Lauren Conway made a pair of free throws in the final seconds did Clinton have enough for a 35-32 win. By pushing a Class B foe, Waterville, still in Class C, may have shown something for the future.

So did Onondaga, in the separate realm of Solvay's Tip-Off Tournament. First, the Tigers beat a Class AA foe in Henninger, 48-44, with Kayla Murray (16 points) and Katie Barry (13 points) leading the way. Then OCS shut down the host Bearcats 42-28 as Barry hit four 3-pointers on her way to 18 points.

As with all the others on this opening weekend, Onondaga enhanced its name through a pair of wins. Now as the rest of the teams start to appear, we'll see if they can keep up the good work.